


Ice Climbers

by Jake_Jakers



Category: Ice Climber (Video Game), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst, Crossover, Discord: IzuOcha Writing Competition, F/M, Failure is Always an Option, Izuocha, Sometimes things just go wrong, Wait a minute Ice Climbers actually has a tag here?, also angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28514760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jake_Jakers/pseuds/Jake_Jakers
Summary: Atop an ever changing mountain, it sure is nice to have people who are will to lend a hand out of the kindness of their heart. IzuOcha Bitter Cold Contest entry.
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, Uraraka Ochako/Midoriya Izuku
Comments: 14
Kudos: 23





	Ice Climbers

“L-liars. Every last one of them.” A man said under his breath as his brother laid underneath an enormous evergreen tree, trying to hide from whatever wind and blinding snow they could. His brother either didn’t hear him or didn’t care to respond and it was too cold to really matter at that moment anyway. 

Plenty of people had come down Mount Henkei with riches and great foods, but their stories would never quite add up. More accurately, the mountain’s geography would actually be impossible if half of the claims about where the riches laid dormant were true. After their three-day trek around the mountain, however, the duo were willing to believe the mountain was either sentient, cursed, or both; literally everything that could have gone wrong had gone wrong, to the point it seemed their progress was deliberately being halted. 

“Bro, we should just head back-”

“Care to tell me h-how?” He said in a more-than-irritated tone. “This storm isn’t letting up, and I would like to not freeze to death-”

“What are we d-d-d-doing right now, then?!”

“We’re minimizing the chances of that happening!” Silence followed until the older brother spoke back up. “Look, t-there’s nothing we can do right now but wait this out and-and then try to figure out a safe way down.”

His younger brother scoffed at the statement, given that just two hours ago they nearly walked right off the cliffside. The wind slowing down enough to where the snow wasn’t completely blinding did offer some reprieve, though. “Man, I wish we caught that red bird thing we saw earlier. I’m starving.” His older brother just silently pulled out some beef jerky.

“Here.”

“T-thanks.” He would have scarfed it down if he wasn’t shivering head to toe, but instead he had to take it one bite at a time. Halfway through the second piece, however, he could have sworn he was seeing someone walking in the distance. “Hey bro,” he turned his head to his older brother, “d-did any off th-them say anything about-about other people living out here?”

“I don’t think so? Even so, I can’t see anyone living on this mountain. We barely see any animals, even.”

The younger brother turned his head back to see them, but the wind picked up speed and the falling snow removed them from sight. He figured the cold was getting to him and went back to eating. That is, until he saw the silhouette again, this time moving towards them. As it continued to get closer and less blurry, he finally spoke up. “Bro, there’s someone coming!”

The elder brother perked up and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket. “Stay back!” The stranger didn’t seem to be listening. “I’m armed!” As he walked closer, he saw the strangers were also armed - with mallets. Whether he was shaking from the wind or the shadow walking towards him wasn’t clear, but the fact he started to shake more when this person had company pushed the answer more towards the second option. Eventually, he was close enough to see the green parka the stranger was wearing, with a brown belt.

“Are you okay?” The man said, now close enough to be heard. “Are you guys hurt?”

The older brother put his blade away once he started to realize they weren’t in any danger. It wasn’t just the man’s concern for them; as he got closer, nothing about his actual face indicated he was dangerous. Beyond his  _ barely _ barely visible green hair, he might have been the most plain and unassuming person he’d ever seen - and considering his brother existed-

“Deku! Are they dangerous?”

“No, and they don’t seem to be hurt.”

The companion’s details became more apparent. Putting away their mallet, both saw the stranger’s friend was a woman with rosy cheeks, brown hair, and a pink parka. “Good. By the way, I’m Ochako, what brings you two out here?” The four went under the tree, and the brothers began the long process of explaining the stories they’ve heard and their desires to survey the mountain to explain the inconsistencies, along with the occasional repetition to account for the wind drowning them out. “Ah. Well, I’ve only been out here for about a year, but Deku’s been studying this mountain before either of us lived here!”

The two brothers then pointed at the man in green with questioning looks on their face. “Uh, Midoriya. I’m Izuku Midoriya; Deku’s a nickname.” He then walked out from under the tree and pointed up. “This mountain is certainly magical!” He had to yell over the wind. “It’s possibly the most magical thing in our world, seeing how it changes shape every day! Animals will live here one morning and simply vanish the next!” Seemingly tired of shouting, he returned to under the tree. “The only things that are constant are the vegetables growing in the ground, the snow, the tree on the peak, and the Condor.”

The younger brother elbowed his elder. “That musta been the red bird thing we saw!”

“Sounds like it!” Ochako said happily. 

Izuku resumed where he left off. “Sorry that I can’t really explain how it does all of this; I’ve never really cared to learn. That, and there’s still plenty of things we’ve yet to see about it.”

“So what do you two actually do up here?”

“Explore the mountains and help people like you.” Ochako said. “We live not too far from this spot, since it’s one of the few places that never seems to change."

Izuku nodded. “So if you guys want, we can get you back to Takoba Village safely.” The brothers nodded eagerly, and then the four made their way down the magical mountain.

\---

Izuku and Ochako were leaving Takoba relatively empty handed. While it was true they brought some gold down with them, it was mostly for the brothers to stay at the hotel while they figured out how to get back home. That said, the two brothers did compensate them with whatever gear they had on hand; namely, a cigarette lighter and a pictobox. So the duo looked up to the mountain they called home, turning their backs to the community their parents wished they’d live in instead.

“Chillier down here than usual, huh?” Ochako asked. The two had their hoods down, since even chilly village air was still pretty warm to them. Izuku merely nodded in agreement. “So it’s probably freezing up there.”

“Let’s not take too much time getting back, then.” Izuku said with a bit of a groan. “Three days on that mountain, they’re lucky the Condor spotted them when it did.” Ochako put her hand on his shoulder and simply smiled at him, causing Izuku to take a deep breath and return the smile to her. “But they’re alive and safe. That’s what matters.” He turned his attention back to the mountain. “I just wish people understood the danger of this place.” He turned his gaze to the ground. “It’s killed enough people as it is.”

“Relax. We’ve been bringing a lot of people back down here the past few months, but that’s just what we do, right?” Ochako asked. “Now I say we worry about getting home in one piece.”

The two then began their sure-to-be-long climb back up the mountain. It had taken them three hours to make their way down, and scaling down was the easy part.

\---

Thirty minutes into their climb, they reached the end of the smooth half of the trail. “The rocky road itself doesn’t seem to change shape all that often, does it?” Ochako pondered out loud. “Isn’t this exactly how it was last month?”

“Yeah, I think it is.” Izuku turned his head back to answer her as he began to walk over the stones. “Things this far down don’t change that much, if at all.” Izuku turned around to hide his sheepish expression; he honestly wasn’t sure how true what he just said was.

Not that Ochako would have noticed, since she got stuck in her head as they walked over the many rocks. Her mind started to wander during the base climb back, something that was quickly becoming the norm for her. It only ever became problematic when Deku became the subject of her daydreaming. This time, however, it was rocky road ice cream, or more accurately the time her family saved up for a month to have some freshly made at a dairy farm. This led to a stray thought for the rosy-cheeked lass. “Hey Deku?”

“Mm?”

“Have ya ever found any cocoa beans out here?

Izuku’s pace noticeably slowed as he gave the question thought. “Twice” The green-haired man went back to his normal pace but didn’t drop the topic. “They only grow on trees, and I think only the tree on the peak always grows some.”

“Ah. Just curious.” Ochako started to wonder how much an ice cream churner was, before stopping to aggressively and literally shake those thoughts out of her head.  _ I can’t afford to get distracted. I’m here for them, not myself! _ She quickly resumed navigating the rocks, lest Deku think she got herself stuck (again). But whether it was an ice cream churner or a new shirt or Deku or a cookbook or anything else that she wanted, she would give herself a mental kick in the pants to pull her head out of the clouds.

That said, it was really uncanny how often it happened when they reached the uneven rocky terrain of the trail.

\---

“Welp, time to climb.” Izuku said as they reached the bottom of a cliffside - the very same cliffside the brothers nearly fell off of. They had also noticed some specs of snow on the ground they walked on, so the winter weather probably started atop the wall of rocks. The two pulled climbing axes from their backpacks along with some rope, hooked themselves to each other, and got to work. Despite how labor intensive it had proven to be, the duo had proven to be quite adept at rock climbing. Ochako especially took pride in this part to the journeys across this frigid, even land, since it was the one thing she found out she was a natural at.

While the dropping temperature made it quite tempting for them to throw their hoods up, that was not a wise idea. A single gust of wind could blow them off the wall they cling to, but at least the wind would always have a noticeable increase in speed before any hard gusts of wind, almost like a warning shot from the mountain. Climbing the wall normally would only take about ten minutes at most, but taking the time to implant the ax deep enough so the wind wouldn’t easily blow them off would double the climbing time. The wind itself blowing hard enough and often enough to keep forcing them to stop and wait, like it was today, would double that again.

Soon enough, the two did scale up the grey wall. They stopped to catch their breath, put their things away, and pull up their hoods; the temperature was going down and the wind was picking up. Izuku remembered which way they came from, and led the way. The snow was halfway up their legs as they made their way back home. There was a long, spiral hillside they could walk up. It was long, tiresome, boring, and freezing, but it was the safest route back.

\---

“So, Ochako?”

“Mm?”

Izuku was a tad nervous to be speaking his mind, but besides a single remaining rock climb it was going to be a long walk of nothing interesting happening from where they were; he felt he may as well ask what was bothering him while he had the chance. “Is everything okay with your parents?”

“Oh. Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

Izuku didn’t have it in him to look her in the eyes. “Well… back in town, you didn’t go to the post office. I thought you’d want to make sure they sent something.”

“Oh. Don’t worry about it!” Izuku turned his head to Ochako, but he suspected her cheer was hollow. “I haven’t written home in a few months, it’s not like we found anything of value to sell.”

“Ah…” Izuku stopped for a second, both to think for a moment and let Ochako catch up so they could walk side-by-side. Izuku wasn’t sure what else to say, and as such the two walked silently in unison for a while. “Don’t worry, we’ll find something worth mining soon enough.”

“Probably.” Ochako sounded like she was forcing herself to be happy. Izuku decided to drop the subject, and not a moment too soon, as a bird that looks like a pterodactyl mixed with a phoenix came down and landed at their feat, melting the snow around it and giving the duo some welcome warmth. 

“Hey little guy!” Ochako said, with more genuine enthusiasm.

The bird started cawing at the pair, clearly trying to convey an urgent message. “Don’t worry,” Izuku told their feathered friend. “We got those two down the mountain safely-” Izuku was interrupted by the creature cawing more aggressively, as it flapped its wings rapidly. “Wait, really?” The bird continued to caw at him, as if to say ‘of course, what do you think I’m saying?’

Ochako’s eyes widened as the bird continued to squawk at them. “If those guys can’t start a fire, we need to go help; you still have the lighter those two gave us?”

“Yeah!” Izuku quickly looked at the Condor, who was pointing in the direction. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll feed you when we get home.” The bird saluted them with its wings before taking off again. “Come on, that side of the mountain is hell frozen over!”

\---

Any plans for them to hurry were quickly dashed, as the journey to the location was a harsh one. First, the snow covered the loose, uneven ground that would occasionally give out and require one of them to rescue the other. And then there was the rock climb, which had the added complication of the wind never calming down enough - or indeed at all - forcing them to take their climb at a glacial pace. 

Lastly, there was the triple threat of the frozen riverbed: slippery surface, breakable surface, and near guaranteed-death should they fall through said surface and into the water. The last of which nearly gave Ochako a heart attack when Izuku suddenly fell onto the ice, but thankfully it held his weight. Their luck didn’t last long unfortunately, as a massive tree fell over but got caught on a rock on their path, forcing them to walk around it (which involved a cliffside shimmy).

“There!” Izuku exclaimed. “A campsite!  **_The_ ** campsite!” The wind started to pick up and Ochako caught up to him, only for him to charge full steam ahead, or as close to that as knee-high snow would allow. “Don’t worry! We are here!”

Ochako had a sinking feeling in her stomach. While it might be the wind and snow blowing around them, she didn’t see or hear anyone respond to Izuku, who had stopped moving. As she approached Deku to see what was wrong, he began to mutter.

“No…” Izuku slowly walked towards the still group of three. “No. No no no nonono!” Izuku could barely keep up with himself as he ran towards the three around the would-be campfire. “Come on, stay with us! We’re here to help!” The wind started to pick up some more, pushing the temperature lower still. “Come on! Get up!” Izuku started poking, and then slapping, one of the three people on the ground. “Wake up, damn you!” Izuku screamed in denial. He knew what frostbite looked like, he probably knew better than most in that regard.

They were dead. But they couldn’t be. His job was to save people from this elevated hellhole. The Condor told them exactly where to go, and they went here as fast as anyone reasonably could. They shouldn’t be dead.

Izuku stepped backwards in disgust from the dead corpse, only to trip over a pile of snow. Taking the time to wipe the snow away revealed a fourth person on the ground. Izuku had barely missed stepping on the corpse’s hand and crushing it.

“Deku!” He turned to barely see Ochako by an opening in the rock. “There’s a cave here! The wind’s picking up! Come on!”

On instinct, Izuku reached for the hand of the man he tripped over, on the off chance there was something he could do for him. Grabbing the hand and moving as fast as he could, he heard a hard cracking noise. It took him a split-second to realize his arm wasn’t dragging a body, but he was still holding the man’s arm. His gloves hid the feel, but Izuku realized he was holding a frozen arm that was no longer attached to its host. Izuku abruptly halted as he looked at the severed arm in his hand.

“Deku!” Ochako screamed as she ran to her friend. She immediately realized what Deku was holding. “D-Deku?” He didn’t answer, although his shivering confirmed he was still alive. “Deku! It’s freezing! We need to get into the cave!” He still wasn’t responding. Giving up on diplomacy, she smacked the arm out of his hand and led him by the hand to the cave.

\---

Ochako only left the cave to grab the fire wood from the frozen campsite, hoping the wood would still burn. It was also the last time she planned to leave, seeing how the wind was blowing so much snow it was impossible to see outside. Freezing as it may have been, the cave did protect them from the now lethal wind chill.

With Izuku just sitting down and staring into space, Ochako set up a fireplace in front of him and sat on the opposite side. “Deku? Are you alright?” He didn’t respond, though at least he was still visibly breathing. “Can you hear?” He didn’t answer, nor had he to any attempt Ochako had made to get her friend to acknowledge her. Ochako turned her attention away from him and towards something else: a corpse.

It seemed at least one of the explorers noticed this cave next to their camp, or more likely staved off the frostbite long enough for wind to uncover it. But whatever the reason, the cold still took his life; at least he wasn’t frozen solid. But between the cave not being able to save that man, Izuku’s paralysis (did he notice the fifth victim? Because she was starting to hope he couldn’t) and her inability to get his attention, a sense of hopelessness started to loom over her.

Ochako tried what she always did when feelings she didn’t like showed up: shove them down until she couldn’t feel them and focus on what’s at hand. And that was ‘not freezing to death.’ Seeing as Deku wasn’t moving, she looked through his bag to get the lighter. 

“Please work.” She squeaked and she then made sure the wood could support itself. Unfortunately, despite her hopes, the wood was frozen from the outside storm, and melting the ice would just make them damp; they weren’t going to light. “This is fine. This is fine.” She told herself, desperate to believe what she was saying.

She looked around the cave, and looking at the corpse gave her a morbid idea, but one that she fought against almost as quickly as it came to mind.  _ I am  _ **_not_ ** _ lighting it on fire! I’d feel awful, the smell might kill me before the cold does, and… I really don’t want to know how Deku would take that at this point. _ Ochako then had a much less barbaric idea. She crawled over to the poor fella and started to look through his person for anything of use.

The first thing she noticed was how much cheaper his brown parka was compared to theirs, and insulation was not its strong suit. In fact, it reminded her of an old, threadbare coat she used to have.  _ Wonder if the poor guy could even afford a proper one like ours? _ The only thing of value in his pockets was a pocket knife, and she moved on to his backpack while trying to reconcile the guilt of what she was doing.  _ It’s a matter of survival. We didn’t come to do this. _ His backpack was more well equipped, with some canned food - two cans of beans, two of rice - a metal bowl with a wooden spoon, and a flask that a single whiff told her all she needed to know.  _ Wow! Good morning, whiskey! _

Ochako next pulled out some metal objects, including a few poles and chains. She wasn’t precisely sure what they were, but she put it aside for later.  _ Maybe it’s a weapon you have to put together? _ She could have Izuku assemble it when he came to, although the dead look in his eyes made her wonder when that would be. Speaking of weapons, the next thing she found was a broken climbing ax. After that, however, was the Holy Grail of the pack: wood. Wood that was untouched by the ice or chill.

“Yes!” Ochako said to the corpse, which she had named ‘Chef’ thanks to all the food he had; giving him a name was also the most respectful thing she could think of at the moment (and it helped her cope with the fact they were sharing space with a corpse). Ochako replaced the frozen wood with the thawed wood, used the lighter to set it on fire, and then poured a bit of the whiskey onto the open flame. Soon, she had a proper fire going. Izuku was still just staring, but at least they’d be warm enough to stay alive.

\---

“Uh… huh?” Izuku started to look around, wondering why he was in a cave. The fire in front of him was nice, even if it didn’t negate the cold outright, but how did that get there?

“Deku!” Ochako got up from the other side (causing Izuku to wonder how he overlooked her) and flung her arms around him. “Thank goodness!”

“Uh… what’s going on?” Ochako, without letting go of him, took the time to explain how he blacked out, how she made a fire, and about the corpse she’d named ‘Chef.’ “Oh, oh dear.” Izuku squeezed Ochako, in part out of guilt for effectively abandoning her, and in part out of relief that she was still okay. “I’m sorry! So sorry!” Pulling himself away, he looked her in the eyes. “I hope I didn’t scare you too much.”

“N-no. I was fi-fine.” Izuku didn’t believe her, but refused to pressure her on it. “No, what spooked me was this.” Ochako got up and went to a pile of stuff between the fire and the corpse which he assumed was part of the group they came to rescue. Said pile had canned food, a broken climbing ax, a portable campfire cooking set (that he  **_really_ ** did not understand why Ochako hadn’t set up yet), a flask of what he assumed was liquor, a pile of rock salt and a notebook, the last of which she gave him without further words. He took that as a sign to read it.

_ List of things to sell: _

_ Salt _

_ Salt _

_ More Salt _

_ Extra Salt _

_ Carbon _ _ Never mind, was just a fragile rock _

_ Salt (if we ever find meat, it’s never going back _

_ Salt _

_ Salt (Seriously? I thought these caves had gemstones) _

_ Salt _

_ Salt _

_ Take a wild guess _

_ Salt _

_ It’s freezing _

_ Salt, and that’s the last thing I can mine. Lovely. _

That last part got Izuku thinking.  _ Why stop there? He realized how cold it was getting, but he surely wasn’t just planning to freeze to death. _ Izuku looked back at the corpse and the pile, and noticed a few key details. 

First was his outfit and bag - they were cheap, and similar to the ones that the group outside was wearing. The next thing he noticed with that list in mind was the broken climbing ax. It takes a lot of force to break those things, even the cheapest of them. The only way to really break them was to misuse them. Like… for mining. 

At that point, Izuku had to stand up as things started to click. He turned to the corpse with a sense of empathy, as an image of a bunch of poverty-stricken young adults climbing a mountain that many people bragged about finding riches in, either unaware of or far too accepting of how dangerous it was, came to him. He threw the notepad on the ground. “A bunch of people froze to death over  _ salt _ .”

Ochako just nodded as Izuku joined her by the campfire. “I know what that kind of desperation does to you. Poverty with a promise of a quick way out.” For a long time, they were quiet as they huddled around the fire, and the flame had dimmed a tad. Unfortunately, the snow storm outside hadn’t let up yet. 

“What exactly were you thinking?” Ochako asked out of the blue.

“Huh?”

“Your little blackout? Do you remember what happened? What went through your mind during that?”

Izuku only had to think about it for a second for it all to come back. “It’s stupid.”

“No it wasn’t.”

“How would you know?”

“You don’t think about stupid things.” Izuku scoffed at that, which Ochako did not appreciate. “So you  **_do_ ** remember and just not wanna tell me? Is that it?”

Izuku went back to looking at the fire, thinking about it some more. She really wanted to know, and he was still positive she didn’t take him spacing out that well. “Right.” Izuku took a deep breath in. “When you yelled at me to head to the cave, I panicked. We failed to save these people, and I tripped over one of them. I guess since I never looked properly at the guy I tripped over, I wanted to believe he may have been alive somehow. But when I held that arm in my hand…” 

Izuku turned away from Ochako and towards the fire, “I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about how many times this may have happened. How many times when I tried to save someone, was I leaving more people to die? What am I even doing here? On this mountain?” Izuku then turned away from the fire and looked outside the cave at the raging snow storm as he curled up into a ball. “When I grabbed that arm, it hit me all at once how little of a difference I actually make.”

For a few agonizing minutes, the only noise that could be heard was the fire. “Deku?” He finally turned his attention to her, but refused to uncurl. “Do you think we could have saved these guys if we left the two brothers to die out there?”

Izuku sat there for a few moments before answering In a flat tone. “No.”

“Do you wish you didn’t save me to look for-”

“Absolutely not.”

Ochako smiled for a split second, and it showed Izuku how tired and stressed out she actually was. “Did you ever think that no one died on this mountain since you moved here?”

Izuku stopped to think about it. Ever since he turned eighteen, he had helped anyone he came across, eventually anyone the Condor told him about. But he had to be honest. “No.”

“Do you blame yourself for their deaths?”

“ _ Yes. _ ” Izuku said in defeat. Rather than think about it, he spoke his mind, and heart, to her. “My whole job is to save people. I need to-”

“You do more than you need to.” The tired woman put her arms around him. “People don’t understand how dangerous this mountain is, or they just don’t care. You do this to be nice, to save people for the sake of it! That’s the textbook definition of heroism!”

Izuku sat there to stew on what she said, but it didn’t take him long to reach his conclusion. “Thank you.” Izuku got up, walked over to the pile of supplies and picked up the flask. Ochako’s expression only became more confused when he held out the flask to her. “Here, have a swig.”

“H-huh?” Alcohol actually made people colder, and they both knew this, and Ochako’s incredulousness was clear.

“You look tired. More so than usual when we go on a trip this long. I don’t know what’s stressed you out, and you don’t have to tell me, but you deserve a break.” He started placing the frosty logs around the fire, letting them defrost a bit. “You can have a drink to relax, and I’ll keep the fire going.”

Ochako may not typically like liquor, but that did sound nice to her. She opened the flask and was nearly ready to take a sip, but something stopped her. 

“Deku,” Izuku sat back down next to her. “When you were zoned out, I was thinking about a lot of things.” She took a small, brief sip. “About us. About this. About them.” She pointed to the corpse real quick. “Eventually, I thought about my parents.” She took another swig, this one slightly longer. 

“I started to think about what you said earlier when we were in town, and how I hadn’t checked the post office. I then thought about how I haven’t sent them any mail lately.” And she took another swig. 

“In fact, I realized how I haven’t sent them anything in two months since we haven’t sold anything valuable. Which then made me realize the last time I sent them any mail that wasn’t related to money was seven months ago!” Ochako’s voice started to raise after the next sip.

“And I… and I… I just hate how selfish I am!” She then took the longest drink from the flask, at which point Deku had to confiscate it. 

“I mean, earlier today, I was thinking about a fucking ice cream churner! And stupid shit like that happens all the time! Whether I’m thinking about you or a cookbook ro something moronic like that, I can’t ever just focus on what I’m out here to do! And-and-and-” She eventually just put her hand on her forehead as she started to cry, “I don’t even know if they’re taking the money! They could just be lying to make me feel better! I just want to help them out financially! But-but-but-”

“But you don’t know if you’re making any difference?” She merely nodded. Ochako tried to reach over Izuku to get the flask for more, but her arms ended up around Izuku instead. He returned her embrace and patted his sad friend on the back. “You’re not selfish.” he whispered. “You wouldn’t be here with me if you were.” Ochako didn’t respond verbally, but after a few minutes did regain her composure. Izuku turned her around to face the fire while she was still on his lap. “Let’s just focus on staying warm, okay? The storm has to end sooner or later.”

They spent the rest of their time waiting out the blizzard like that. Ochako sat in Deku’s lap, keeping each other warm. On top of that, Ochako felt the booze take effect, and while she was by no means drunk, she certainly felt the haze. If she was honest, she kinda liked it, regardless of how booze itself tasted. Feeling her concern just wash away was so refreshing. Eventually, she actually felt like talking again.

“So,” She leaned her head backwards onto his shoulder, “the last time we spent this long in a cave together was when we went spelunking.” She felt a dopey grin on her face. “I miss spelunking.”

Now was hardly the time to think about that, but Ochako was too happy for Izuku to care. “Fine. Want to go spelunking again sometime?”

“Yes.” She slurred the word, drawing out the sound. Izuku heard a little hiccup escape her lips. “We found such a beautiful ruby last time. Plus, it’s fun.”

“It is.” She was bringing up a good point, they haven’t just explored the mountain in a while. “Later this week, we’ll go spelunking again.”

\---

“Urg,  _ finally _ . We can go home.” Ochako said as she grabbed her forehead in pain. Izuku went outside to take pictures of everyone they found, grab any personal belongings that could help identify them, and to appreciate the lack of any wind. Tomorrow, they would head back to town and report their deaths. They may not have been able to save them, but they might be able to give their friends and family some closure.

“You ready?” He said, sturdy as ever. Ochako nodded as she slowly walked toward him. They had a long, cold, but manageable trip home.

\---

As the green and pink parkas stood on hooks dripping water, Izuku sat in the living room attending the fireplace. 

“Ah, true warmth.” He put a thin log in to make sure the whole house was toasty. Izuku heard what sounded like something getting caught in the chimney, took a few steps back, and right on cue the Condor came down and out of the fire. The bird spit out a bit of ash, but the fact it was on fire seemed to not bother it as a few wing flaps extinguished the flames. The bird then squacked at the greenette. “Yeah, we were late getting back, sorry. A terrible storm hit us.” 

The bird then cawed at him once in acceptance, and again in inquiry. “No, I’m afraid they didn’t make it.” The Condor then made a remorseful caw toward him before turning away. “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault.” Izuku got on his knees to address the bird. “Hey, look at me!” It did so, although it still looked sad. “No matter how fast you got to us, we probably wouldn’t have made it in time. Besides, you did help us save those two brothers!” He thought he saw the bird sniff, but he wasn’t quite sure that was even possible. “Anyway, you hungry?” The Condor silently but aggressively nodded.

Izuku walked into the kitchen to grab a bowl. “Mm, that smells delicious.” He said to Ochako.

“Since I’m the cook tonight, I was thinking something simple.”

“After tonight, something simple sounds just right.” izuku opened a drawer to pull out a tub filled with saltine firecrackers. Taking two handfuls of them, he crushed them up into small but distinct chunks. Carrying the blow back to the living room, he laid it on the ground and watched the Condor go to town on the crumbs. A mere thirty seconds later, and the bowl was nearly spotless. Tilting its head down in thanks, the bird walked into the fire and disappeared through the smoke.

Izuku went into the bedroom, and by the nightstand of his bed pulled out a piece of paper, an ink pen, an envelope, and some copper coins. He then quickly returned to the kitchen.

“Just in time.” Ochako said, finishing their plates. “Whatcha got there?”

“Oh, just some stuff for you.” He handed her everything. “Since we have to head into town tomorrow, I figured you could mail them a letter with some pocket change.”

Ochako smiled, but then she handed the coins back to Izuku. “Thank you… but this letter is just going to be telling them their daughter is safe, and loves them. But speaking of my parents.” She placed the postage on her side of the table before getting their plates. “I made my mom’s dish for when I had a bad day.” 

On the table, she placed two identical dishes: sunny-side-up eggs cooked over white rice with a three-bacon-wide bacon smile, and bacon grease-fried rice cheeks. 

She quickly handed him some chopsticks and was clearly struggling to keep a straight face. “Now eat your dinner, before it gets sad.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, this only took 20 hours of writing. But it's done! One thing I decided to not do was directly address them as a couple and instead focus on them more as an inseparable duo, much like the Ice Climbers themselves. Exactly how platonic or romantic they are is ultimately up to the audience. I hope this gives the story a slightly different flavor to most of the other ones in the contest. Thanks for read!
> 
> Also, MASSIVE thanks to LK13 for proof reading this and saving it from being a total mess and convincing me to add back in the ending sequence!


End file.
